HERSHEY, PA -- Hershey Co. said it will acquire Austin, TX-based Amplify Snack Brands Inc. for $12 a share in cash in a transaction valued at approximately $1.6 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018.

Amplify, founded in 2014, focuses on producing better-for-you products made with simple and transparent ingredients.

"Hershey's snack mix and meat snacks products, combined with Amplify's Skinny Pop, Tyrrells, Oatmega, Paqui and other international brands, will allow us to capture more consumer snacking occasions by creating a broader portfolio of brands," said Hershey Co. president and chief executive Michele Buck.